Regulating Social Commerce In India: Are Existing Corporate And Consumer Protection Laws Adequate?
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ashima Gupta, The ICFAI University
Dr. Susanta Kumar Sadangi, Associate Professor (Law), The ICFAI University
ABSTRACT
Social commerce is reshaping India's digital economy in ways that few anticipated even a decade ago. By weaving shopping directly into everyday social media use through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp it has blurred the line between browsing and buying. A product can be discovered through a friend's post, recommended by a trusted influencer, and purchased without ever leaving the app. That seamlessness is its power. But it is also the source of its regulatory complexity.
Unlike organized e-commerce platforms such as Amazon or Flipkart, social commerce thrives on informality. Many sellers are home-based entrepreneurs or micro-vendors with no formal business registration. Transactions often happen through private chats, Instagram DMs, or WhatsApp groups outside the reach of conventional marketplace rules. This informality creates real risks: misleading advertisements, counterfeit goods, data misuse, and near-impossible complaint redressal when something goes wrong.
This paper asks a pointed question: do India's existing laws actually cover this? It looks carefully at the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, the Companies Act, 2013, and the Information Technology Act, 2000 testing each against the realities of social commerce. The answer, in short, is that these laws offer a foundation but fall well short of what is needed.
Targeted reforms are necessary. Clearer legal definitions for social commerce, firmer compliance duties for platforms, stronger complaint mechanisms, and alignment with forthcoming data protection law all of these are essential if India wants social commerce to grow within a framework that genuinely protects consumers and holds participants accountable.
Keywords: Social Commerce, Digital Marketplace Regulation, Digital Economy, Consumer Protection, Corporate Governance, Informal Digital Sellers, Influencer Marketing, Intermediary Liability.
